Hank and Dorie Bluebird are still hanging out in the back yard. This afternoon, I was working in the garden, and Hank flew at me 4 times! He was on the fence beside the garden on the opposite side of the yard from the nest box. He flew down from the fence toward the ground and me as if he wanted to land in the grass. He didn't land and changed directions to perch back on the fence. This happened three more times. I'm wondering now if he was trying to scare me away from the yard.
This morning, Hank and Dorie with the help of 2 house finches scared a European Starling out of the yard by making steep dives at him. If was so fun to watch! It's also interesting that the house finches are banning together with the bluebirds to run the starlings and the grackles out of the yard. If there is a bird gang in the back yard, Hank and Dorie are the bosses. The picture below is a European Starling from earlier this month. I was able to get a better picture of another starling yesterday and will add it to the blog when I download pictures.
I've been able to get some pictures of the house finches and some American Goldfinches when they eat from the feeders on the deck. The male goldfinches are so bright, and I think that's one our favorite birds. We've been seeing them pretty consistently since we put the feeders up last year. One of the most beautiful sites is to see the brillant red cardinals, the bright goldfinches, and the gorgeous bluebirds at the feeder at the same time. Each of the colors make the other colors look more intense.
The house finches may have already starting having babies. One of the little birds yesterday looked as if he still had some of the baby feathers on him. I was able to get a pretty good shot of him. You can see the little white feathers on his head. The next picture is of that same little bird and an adult male house finch. It seems that the house finches are plentiful at the feeders year round.
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